Invader Rim Invader Exchange!
by PekoponianDani
Summary: When the "Invader Exchange" introduces Rim to Earth, what will happen? At the same time, the Skool's "Class Exchange" proves convenient for Rim.Is Dip really Dib's cousin, or a robot sent by Zim? Who is Neo, and the twins at the back of the class? R&R plz
1. How the Smaller Half Lives

"...Shut up."  
"What?"  
"Just shut up!"  
"Oh. Right. And you're going to make me?"  
I glowered at the three standing over me, cowering in the corner of the big warehouse they had lured me into. "Where's Lir?" I demanded quietly, fighting off the tears that threatened to give away my fear and anger.  
"Lir? Oh, right. The girl you like." I cringed at the painful truth, pulling away when one of them reached down to touch me. The older boy snatched my shirt collar, pulling me to my feet and pushing me against the wall. "See, she doesn't like you. And she never will. Who could like a shrimp like you, anyways?" I glared down at them hatefully, unable to retaliate. Each held a weapon of some sort; a bar, a chain and a knife. Today wasn't my day, and it sure as hell wasn't going to mold into a good night.  
"So, is there something you want to say, kid?" the one holding the bar asked, hitting it into his palm. The one holding the chain held it in both hands, his right holding the end and the left holding it taut between the two hands, the rest trailing onto the ground. My personal captor held a knife in one hand, sheathed for now.  
"Not in particular," I growled, glaring at them.  
"No?" I knew them each, but in my current hazardous position could only recall my personal captors name; Lak.  
"Come on, Lak," I said, trying to reason with him as well as myself, searching for acceptable reasons for them not to beat me within an inch of my life. "You know they'll notice I'm gone. I'm small, but it makes me stand out. They'll--"  
"Assume you're on holiday, since you take so many," Lak cut me off, flicking his wrist and letting the blade slide out of it's little liar. I winced, the little light coming into the warehouse reflecting off the blade. My mind flashed an image of me meeting the blade brutally, embedding itself in my chest and letting the blood cascade down my body, my entire form numb with fear and pain as well as paralysis that came to me in my visions, the inability and weakness of fear. I shoved it aside, not before I shuddered. Lak grinned, holding up his knife and waving it tauntingly before my face, my eyes following it nervously. "Are you sure there's nothing you want to say? Or admit?"  
I felt my body give, another shudder finding my spine. If I admit to switching the test scores, I'd get skinned alive. If I didn't say something... I'd get beaten to near-death. What to choose...  
I closed my eyes, getting dizzy from watching the knife dance in front of me. I wasn't really the one who had switched the scores, though. Lan had. My best friend, Lan... And I sure as hell couldn't turn in my best and only friend. This was going to end badly, to say the least...  
"Rim?"  
I opened my eyes, looking at the now frowning face of Lak. "What's wrong with you?"  
My racing mind slowed down and I felt my breath quicken slightly, his vision blurring.  
"Lak, he's having another of those attacks," one of them whispered, eyeing me cautiously. The one with the bar. Kan... That was his name. My mind focused painfully, everything coming into vicious clarity. I shut my eyes tightly, slowing my breath before daring to open my eyes again. Lak glared at me; he had dropped me to my feet, standing over me now.  
"Freak," he growled, grinning again. "Scared yourself into a panic-attack." I shut my eyes tightly, lowering my head. "Oh, no." I felt something sharp under my neck and gasped a quick intake of breath, lifting my head away from it. It matched my motions until my head was held high, as though proud, and opened my eyes, Lak's knife under my chin. "You're not getting out of this that easily, kid," he growled, another cold smirk forming on his face. "Now say it. I want to hear you tell me you did it. Or that friend of yours..."  
"It wasn't him," I snapped quickly, glaring at them. "I... I did it. I switched your test scores."  
Lak glanced back at his buddies, flashing them grins that they returned. Saj (that's his name, Saj,) pulled his chain taut, taking a step forward. Lak waved him back for a second and turned back to me, sliding the knife away from my neck and pressing it against my chest. "So, you're going to change them back, right?" he said quietly, glaring down at me.  
"I can't," I replied just as quietly, glowering up at him with fear and anger raging inside my skull. "They're already posted and recorded. They would notice the change."  
"..." Lak glared down at me, but it changed viciously. I jerked and pressed my back against the wall, staring up at him in wide-eyed fright. His face had borne a murderous, empty stare, his grip on his knife tightening.  
"L-Lak," I stammered, but he paid no mind. He swung his arm up, spinning the knife in his hand into a stabbing position and plunged it down towards me.  
"AHH!!" I dove to the side, avoiding the blade by mere inches. I scrambled to my feet and raced towards the door, my mind racing. If I didn't get out of here I'd be killed. That was obvious now.  
I cried out as something grabbed my ankle, jerking it out from below me. I tumbled over, spinning into a sitting position quickly and finding a chain wrapped around my leg.  
"Saj!" I cried in despair, grabbing the chain and wrenching at it desperately.  
"Present," Saj said solemnly, standing over me with an empty glare. I trembled, crawling backwards before an explosion of flares appeared in my vision. Everything was bright, like fireworks, before black ate away my vision.  
Kan...  
My eyes shut slowly and I fell onto my side, unconscious.

Pain throbbed in my head and I whimpered quickly, opening my eyes slowly. I tried to touch my head, only to find my wrists bound to something cold above me. My eyes snapped open before shutting tightly, a low groan escaping my lips.  
"He's awake," someone mumbled. My eyes opened painfully and a bright light glared down at me. A dark shadow blocked some light out suddenly, standing over me.  
I tried to mumble but felt something pressed against my mouth and I shut my eyes, trying to turn my head away feebly. My attempts were met with a soft touch pushing my head back to the side, the bandana being pulled away from my mouth. I mumbled again and groaned, struggling to pull my arms from above my head. They were bound together overtop my head, and I was lying horizontal. My legs were tied together too, and strapped to the ground or table or whatever I was on.  
"Lak, he's up."  
My eyes snapped open and I stared up at Saj. He averted his gaze, refusing to meet mine.  
"A'right." I heard Lak's voice from the side and a small clatter.  
"Saj," I begged quietly, my eyes wide. "What's going on?"  
"Keep quiet," he said quietly, looking at me now. "I hit you up with some morphine when no one was looking. It won't... it won't hurt as bad now," he finished pathetically, regretfully as he trailed off, looking up to Kan as he walked over.  
"He set?" Kan asked, looking down at me as I struggled to free my painful wrists.  
"Yeah," Saj replied quietly, looking away.  
"You don't have to stay," Kan reminded him, putting a hand on Saj's shoulder.  
"...I think I'll go," he whispered, looking ill as he looked up to where Lak was walking towards us. He turned away and left the room through a door at the end. I struggled to crane my neck and found Lak standing on my other side now, looking down at me.  
"Wh-what's--"  
"Shut up," Lak snapped and I winced, obeying. "Seeing as you're useless to me any other way, you're going to help me in my other classes," Lak growled and leaned on the table, over me. "Biology and mechanics." I felt my face pale as he looked up at him, fear wrenching my gut.  
"Wh...y- you.."  
"I said shut up," Lak said, but with less authority. None-the-less, I obeyed. He stood and turned his back on me. A low scraping noise came from his other side and I felt myself shudder at its foreboding sound. He turned back and something caught the light, flashing in my eyes. I shut them tightly and blinked them open when the flash went away. A scalpel was held in his hand, a rather large and sharp one. I felt my body turn cold as all my energy flooded out of me.  
"Y... you can't be serious," I whispered, my eyes wide with terror. He pressed the blade against my lower gut and I twitched against the cold metal, a quiet moan escaping me.  
"Damn right I'm serious," Lak growled angrily, sliding the scalpel up my stomach slowly until he reached my collarbones. I whimpered and gasped through the tracing, feeling tears in my eyes. This couldn't be happening…  
"You done playin' with him, Lak?" Kan asked, sounding impatient.  
Lak stared down at me emotionlessly before grinning. "Yeah."  
He brought the scalpel back down to my lower gut and pressed the tip into my fresh, shallow wound. My gasp gave way to an agonized moan as he pressed it deeper. Red invaded my vision and my body trembled violently, my wrists jerking their binds taut.  
"This is nothin', kid," Lak said quietly before plunging the scalpel into my stomach. My scream echoed in the room. It was nothing compared to the ones that followed for the next seven hours...


	2. The Invader Exchange

Chapter 1. Finally. Sorry I ditched anyone who was reading this, but I have up to Chapter _sixteen_ done, so you'll be happy to know I'll be uploading them all until then every day from now on. c: Squee!

And excuse all small chapters. ;3; ALSO... if you see a weird little symbol, replace it with "..." Three decimals.

FF hates my files.

c:

* * *

~Two years later...~

"Invader Rim, report."

Invader Rim turned to face his screen, his body pulling into a salute. "My Tallest," he said, bowing respectably before looking at them again. "The invasion is coming to a close. All I need to do is send the virus into the atmosphere and wait it out."

"Good job, Invader," Tallest Purple said, nodding as he took a bite out of his donut. Tallest Red floated forward, giving Rim an interested look.

"Invader Rim," he said, "you said your plan is fool-proof, correct?"

"Yes, my Tallest," he said, and exchanged a glance with his robot, KRI, before looking back at his leaders. "Good," Tallest Red said, nodding. "Then you will be testing that theory with the Invader Exchange program."

"Exchange!" Rim cried disbelievingly, staring at his Tallest.

"Yes, Exchange." Tallest Red floated closer and gave Rim a questioning look. "Unless you doubt your Tallest?"

"No sir!" Rim exclaimed, seeming shocked by the mere thought. "I just... it's so... When?"

"Bach of next cycle. Or, according to your new calendar, Monday of next week."

"Monday..." Rim looked down for a second before looking up at them. "...Earth?"

"Give him a donut!" Purple exclaimed and waved his own before lapsing into snickers.

"...But, my Tallest..."

"No "buts", Rim."

"Butts," Tallest Purple giggled and floated off to find more sweets.

"But, my Tallest, Earth...? ... Monday... That's in two days!"

"Correct. The Invader there will be taking your planet, and he will test your theory."

"My Tallest, I said it was fool-proof, not indestructible. That maniac will destroy my entire _base_, let alone my plans!"

Tallest Red laughed.

"You've done your homework, Invader."

"Invader Zim, _banished_ to Earth, and yet he still thinks he's an invader. _Conquering_ Earth, to boot... MY Tallest, please."

"There is no more to be said," Tallest Red said. "Solider!"

Rim struck a salute, though grudgingly, and Kri echoed his motion.

"Invader Rim." Tallest Red waved and his techies cut the transmission. Slowly, angrily, Rim lowered his hand.

"It took me _years_ to figure out this species' weakness," he fumed, stalking to the lift at the end of the room, his robot following slowly. Headed up to their base, Rim started thinking of how to leave instructions that might _possibly_ keep Zim from imploding his experiments.

"Sir." He cast a glance to Kri before looking up at the top of the lift again. "Perhaps bringing the experiment to Earth and trying it there would prove useful and... tactical."

Rim's emotions lit up immediately and he broke into a little smile, looking at Kri again. "An exceptional plan, Kri. This is why I keep you around..." He smiled a bit again at his joke. Kri let one of his own rare smiles flit across his expression before resuming his blank escapade.

_Kri. Killing Robot Intelligence. Programmed by Invader Rim, assigned to planet Virp. The only one of his kind, as well as the only of _any_ kind to know about Rim's past. The only being Rim truly trusts. It, also labeled _he_, keeps everything between him and his master a secret, unless otherwise designated by Rim. Although they should have default command, Kri does not obey the Tallest Red or Purple, harboring loyalties to Rim alone. Aside from this bit of information, Kri Is as much a mystery as his master._

Kri ran through his mental encoding, seeing this in his introduction codes, and let the smallest smile appear inside of him.

"Kri. Go get the experiment, my clothes, and everything else while I fix up the lab and grab our stuff."

"Yes sir," he said, slipping out and seeming to vanish into the shadows. His camouflage programming was of the highest technology, Rim mused. Because _he_ had made it that way.

Returning to the base, Rim sighed and started sorting through his lab, picking out his test tubes that contained acid, poison, liquid metals, gases, liquids, and other things, hitting the seal button and tossing them into the box, knowing their strong coating would stop them from breaking._ Like a human might treat stuffed toys or clothes_, he thought bitterly. Time to start thinking like that, really, seeing as he was going to be living on Earth...

"Sir, your personal—"

"Thank you, Kri," he said quietly, distracted, now working through his medical equipment. He rarely cut off his subordinate, only when he was angry or distracted. Or sad, though this was a rare occurrence.

"Alright, Sir. Would you like me to pack the ship?"

"Yes, Kri. Thank you," he murmured, pushing his little box of autopsy equipment into his medical box and shutting it.

"Are you... alright?" Kri asked, losing his robot cover. Really, he was programmed as a regular subordinate, not a robot slave. To keep an appearance, he obeys Rim and says "Sir", but it's always of choice.

"I'm... fine, Kri," he sighed, glancing at him. "Really. Just... distracted. Okay...?"

"Yes sir," he said, nodding after a moment and disappearing (camouflage-wise), and going off to condense the ship into packable size.

Rim sighed once more and continued working away, knowing he would need the rest of today and all day tomorrow to finish packing.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed~


	3. This is ZIM

Again, if you see one of these; "", replace it with "..." . c:

* * *

"_What!?_ Exchange!? My Tallest! My newest plan at world conquest is drawing so near! You _Can't_ replace me with... who?"

Zim was, predictably, hating the idea, while his robot slave Gir ran around in the background, waving a fairy wand that he'd gotten in a Smiley Meal around, wearing a torn up chocolate bar costume that he'd ripped off the guy standing outside the chocolate store.

"_CHOCOLATE FAIRIES!_" he screeched, vanishing into another part of the base. Zim, ignoring him, glared at the picture of Rim that the Tallest had.

"_Him!?_ He's a brand-new solider! How can you replace me, _ZIM_, with HIM!?"

"We're not _replacing_ you, Zim," Red said, exasperated. "It's a program that _all_ invaders must go through. They switch places with another invader for a while. It proves... adaption skills."

Zim paused.

"_Skills?_ Zim has _skills!_ Zim could adapt to any planet! How can you doubt _Zim!?"_

"We don't doubt you, Zim," Red said, even though Purple could be heard in the background muttering about not needing to doubt something so obvious. "It's just like a mid-term exam. Alright?"

"Exam! Zim did not study!"

"NO, ZIM. You're changing places with another Invader as a mid-term exam. Okay? You don't need to study." On a spur, Red added, "Just conquer his planet and prove you're better then him.""

"Better... Yes! I am easily better than that... _Rim_ fool! I will do it, My Tallest!"

"_You say it like you had a choice,_" Red muttered, but put on a big, fake smile. "Alright, Zim. The exchange is tomorrow. Pack and get ready."

"Yes, my Tallest!" he said, saluting as they vanished from his screen. Quickly, he dashed off to get ready to prove this weak new-soldier was so much weaker than himself.

_ZIM!_

_

* * *

_

Hope you enjoyed c:


	4. Where's Zim? & Pitiful House

Buh. I think I made the class too fluffy. :c Oh well. Bear with me.

Stupid symbols!! Go away!

...also, the last chapter was too short.

So, have another.

c:

* * *

"Ready, Rim?"

"Yes, my Tallest..."

Standing in the teleporter with Kri at his side, his small bag that was his _"Condensed Universe_" invention holding all his stuff, Rim believed he was ready for anything.

...Sort of.

"Alright, Rim. We won't be contacting you on the other side. Good luck, soldier."

"Thank you, my Tallest," he murmured before a flash of light overtook his senses and his home vanished before him.

* * *

"_Class!"_ Ms Bitters hissed and everyone looked up from their own hushed ignoring of her. "According to... the school board... There is to be a _Student Exchange_ where all disgusting students of a class is to change places with a different useless class from a school across the country. Useless... You'll all _die!"_

Ignoring her, the whole class had started cheering.

"Except for Dib..."

He looked up, shocked, from his thoughts of possible other paranormal investigators across the country.

"What!?"

"No school would accept you. Which means... The next teacher will be stuck with you. Hah... hah hah..." Slithering out of the room, the class stared after her, disturbed by her laughing.

Ms Bitters didn't _laugh_...

And yet, she had, and they all dismissed it, too excited to be bothered by one of Ms Bitters' odd doings.

Dib, however, slumped in his chair and crossed his arms angrily, glaring at his desk. He cast a glare at Zim and—

He blinked in surprise and sat up when he saw Zim's desk was empty and found himself wondering if he'd even noticed the green kid come in.

"Where's Zim?" he mumbled and Zita groaned along with everyone else.

"Here he goes again," Zita groaned and, instead of testing them, Dib just slumped, crossed his arms, glared at his desk, and brooded.

* * *

Rim blinked his eyes a few times against the bright new base, stepping out and rubbing his eyes, feeling distorted. He'd always preferred traveling than teleporters, but he had to admit this way was faster.

"This is pathetic," Kri said flatly, and Rim didn't argue. The lab was relatively small, the huge computer in front of him being a little less updated than his own, and the wires on the roof being open and bare. He saw out-dated lifts to his right, probably to the "base" that helped hide Zim (no, them,) from the inhabitants of this planet.

"Weak," Rim muttered crossly, walking to the computer and putting his hands on the keyboard, looking up. "Computer."

"Yes?" the Computer replied, sounded bored. Rim blinked.

"That's no way to address an Invader," he reprimanded and the Computer yawned; if physically possible, he would have picked his nose. Rim bristled. "Eject personality disk."

"Comin' right up." Doing as he was told, his personality disk slid out and Rim wrenched it from the holder, shutting down the entire base.

"What fool hooks up his Computer to his entire base power core?" he said crossly, putting his own disk in and pushing It shut. A loud whirring was heard and the lights flickered on. "Computer?"

"Here, Sir," a new voice said.

"Bring up personality window."

"Yes, sir." A window popped up on the screen and Rim leaned over the large keyboard, pushing the name marked "Sess".

"Sess?"

"Hello, Rim," a feminine voice replied, sounded very soft. "How was your travels?"

"Good, Sess," he said, sighing at the familiar voice. "Please reprogram the entire base here. Fix the power core to be hooked up to my Haser, and fix yourself, too." He slipped his bag off his shoulders and pulled the zipper open, reaching in and sliding a glowing white ball out. It floated inches above his hand and mechanical arms reached down from the base, taking it from him.

"Yes, sir," Sess replied calmly and it vanished into the circuitry above. "Would you like to explore your new home?"

"House, Sess," he corrected. "This wretched place won't be my home. I have a home on Xarox, remember?"

"Yes, of course," she said, a smile in her voice.

"Your motherly programming always calms me down," he sighed and she laughed a bit. He went to the lifts and Kri, after scanning the place, followed. They went up to the base above and cast an odd look around the kitchen they appeared in.

"Are we... in a toilet?" Kri asked suddenly and Rim looked down. He lifted his foot out of the bowl and water dripped off him, making him give a disgusted face.

"Ew," he said, stepping out with Kri right behind him. "What kind of idiot..."

"Zim," Kri replied, rolling his eyes. Rim muttered crossly and, after summoning Sess to fix it, went into the living room.

"...At least there isn't chocolate dripping from the walls," Rim mumbled, walking to the couch and dropping onto it. "Kri, when does that... education thing on Earth start?"

"8am every morning, Sir. Today, the Skool that Zim was attending is holding an "Exchange", much like Irk's own. One class in exchange for another across the country."

"So, my appearing won't be suspicious..."

"Not at all, Sir," Kri said, a little smirk in place. Rim had one of his own.

"Perfect..."

* * *

Hope you enjoyed c:


	5. Class Exchange & Robots

Don't ask what the nightmare was about.

I don't remember.

* * *

While Rim and Kri conversed at 2am, Dib was writhing in his bed, a nightmare clashing his thoughts. He moaned loudly and twisted from side to side, tangled in his sheets, breathing hard, heart racing. His eyes snapped open and he jolted, sitting bolt-upright and panting, looking around, disoriented.

"...A nightmare," he panted, holding his hand over his chest and feeling his heart hammering away. "Holy crap..."

A huge shadow had appeared, wrapping tentacle-like extensions around his body, and its glowing blue eyes had started making him feel more pain than before, more grief and doubt and agony than Earth could comprehend...

"Weird dream," he muttered, still out of breath, and gulped in a few deep breaths before sighing shakily. "It's over now..." He glanced at the clock, grimaced, and threw his sheets back. "Looks like another long wait..."

8am. The bell at Skool rang and the whole single student trudged in, dropping into his seat and leaning his chin on his arms, glaring crossly at the ground. The desk before him held his normal teacher as she muttered about doom and death.

"They're here," she hissed and Dib tilted his head to look out the window. A Skool bus pulled up and, once the doors open, students his own age poured out, laughing and joking and looking forward to a new Skool.

"Stay here," Ms Bitters hissed and slid out of the room to confront the teacher that had appeared at their door. A hushed conversation went on between them before the new one walked off and Ms Bitters returned.

"Not all the students are from the same Skool, so I'll be introducing you all," she said sourly as the students walked in, murmuring.

"Tommy."

A boy waked up, short shaggy hair and bright eyes. "I'm Tommy!"

"They know," Ms Bitters snapped and he fell silent, mildly surprised. "Go sit."

He ran to the back of the room in the opposite corner of Dib and fell into a seat.

"...Neo?"

A sigh. A black-haired boy with icy dull eyes walked up.

"If you have anything to say,--"

"Say it now," he muttered, glancing at her and noticing her glare before trudging to the far corner behind Dib and sitting.

"...George."

Names were called out and soon, most of the seats were taken.

"...Fir and Fer."

Dib blinked and gave the two who walked up odd looks. They had long, black hair and long bangs hiding their eyes. The girls hair had neon blue tips, while the boys had neon green. Both their eyes were a familiar shade of pink that made Dib think of Zim without his disguise. Odd.

Each wore black clothing, the girl a black dress like Gaz's, and the boy a black suit, only less formal. They looked over those seated, glanced at each other, and walked to the back, taking the two back center seats next to each other.

"Dip," Ms Bitters huffed and a girl jumped forward, landing where the twins had been before. She looked, oddly, like Dib, only her hair didn't have the spike, though her black bangs were all spiked downwards, and she had the same trench coat, only dark dark navy, almost black. Her shirt was red, almost maroon, and it had a small smiley face that had little demon wings on either side and little fangs at the ends of the mouth.

"I'm Dip, a paranormal investigator. Don't be an alien, or I'll find out." She stuck her tongue out when the class laughed and she laughed too, dancing to the chair behind Dib and falling to sit there.

"Lin!"

Another girl with short blue hair stepped up, smiling a bit. She waved, shrugged, and dashed over to sit next to Dip, like the seat might be taken. She sat and Dip grabbed her hand with a little laugh. _They must have been from the same Skool,_ Dib thought, thinking about the girl's name and how it sounded like his own.

"Rim."

Dib glanced up and saw... saw...

A boy walked up to the front, narrowed black eyes looking around, his arms crossed, one hand tapping his arm. He had a black trench coat on, though it was longer than Dib's (and Dip's, he might add). The boy had a gray shirt on underneath with a symbol similar to Zim's on it, and he had black pants, boots and gloves on.

_Weird,_ Dib said, eyeing this boy carefully.

"Take a seat," Ms Bitters hissed. Rim cast her an evil glare, looked over the class and slipped into the chair Zim had left empty. "Now..."

Ms Bitters continued her roll-call.

"Psst..." Dib glanced over his shoulder at Dip, who was leaning over and smiling at him. "Hi. I didn't see you up there. What's your name?"

"Dib," he said quietly. She smiled, thoughtfully.

"You look familiar. And your name sounds familiar too."

"Sounds like yours," Lin commented and they both laughed quietly. Dib smiled a bit but looked at Dip again.

"You said you were a paranormal investigator. Were you kidding?"

Dip gave him an odd look with an upside-down smile.

"Maybe. Why? Are you an alien?"

"No," he muttered, smiling a bit. "But I _am_ a paranormal investigator."

Dip gave him an odd look before smiling a lopsided smile and leaning back. Dib blinked and sighed, looking forward again. He'd probably just blown it for this class, too. Great.

"Have you ever caught an alien?" she asked softly and he glanced back to see a gleam in her eye.

"Uh... No," he admit quietly, giving her an odd look. "Why?"

She smiled.

"I know where there are aliens," she said quietly. Dib gave her an odd look, wondering if she was trying to make fun of him. She didn't laugh, so he finally bit;

"Where?"

"In this class," she said with a smile flitting over her features. Dib narrowed her eyes at her, suddenly suspicious; what if _she_ was an alien, trying to trick him?

"Who?" he asked, quieter.

"Who, what, where, when, why, how?" she said with a quiet laugh. "I bet those are all the questions you had lined up, right?"

Actually, when she answered who, he _was_ going to ask what it was. He felt a little embarrassed sweatdrop form.

"Um... Kind of," he replied quietly and she laughed a bit.

"What's your name again?" she asked quietly and Dib sighed. He obviously wasn't going to get his answers.

"Dib," he said quietly.

"What's your last name?"

He blinked, surprised; nobody had ever asked him that.

"Membrane."

Her features lit up and he shifted uncomfortably.

"Dib!" she breathed, like a familiar name. "I know you! You're the Prof's son!"

Dib was taken off guard; she sounded so surprised.

"Professor Membrane, yeah," he said quietly.

"I'm your cousin!" she said, smiling brightly. Dib suddenly felt a stab of realization and shifted his weight away from her, glaring.

"I don't have any cousins!" he snapped quietly and she blinked, surprised. "You're just another robot sent by Zim to try and trick me! I won't believe it!"

He turned his back on her crossly, glaring at the front of the class again. He heard her whispers with her friend Lin behind him and deduced that she must be a robot, too. Good riddance; he had gotten his hopes up too much. He had to be more careful...

* * *

:O Robots? _Robots?_

_Nowai!  
_


	6. Proving a Threat

Three parts in one.

Because if it were three parts, it would be three parts in three.

That doesn't sound as cool.

* * *

Rim sat at the desk, feeling himself bristling at the mere thought of being surrounded by the enemy. All of them so... _stupid_, it seemed. Of course, his disguise was generally good.

He had taken one similar to Zim's with a few tweaks for good measure. Sharp down-pointed dark brown hair with black outlines, navy blue eyes in honor of Kri's navy blue ones, and a black foot-length trench coat he had saved for those rainy days on Virp.

He wondered briefly if rain on Virp and Earth were the same. He hoped not; the one thing you didn't want falling out of the sky and landing on you was eggs from hostile predator aliens like Viroshians. Especially when they hatched.

Rim shook his head and got back to his current condition, barely noticing when the adult-human teacher drone was finished announcing their new teacher before slithering away. A tall woman with blond hair halfway down her back stepped in, a black jacket draped over her ocean-blue top. She had on dark skin-tight jeans that grew baggy after her knees and a pair of black boots.

"I'm Ms. Corale," she said, pronouncing it like a stable you keep horses. "I'm your teacher for this Student Exchange."

She was smiling and waved a hand. "Take some time to get to know each other for now. We won't work too hard today."

Cheers as she won over their hearts erupted from the room from all but Rim, Dib, Neo, and the mysterious twins in the back...

* * *

"Dib! Hey, Dib, wait up!"

Dib turned and glared as the girl Dip ran up to him, waving.

"Leave me alone!" he shouted and turned, running down the sidewalk. He'd gotten more agile this year, what with chasing Zim all the time, and he soon heard her footsteps slow behind him as she gave up. "Stupid robots," he hissed under his breath, turning a corner and slowing to a walk, crossing his arms angrily.

He didn't wait for Gaz to catch up, knowing she had actually been accepted for the Exchange. Even though it was only because she had threatened them with their lives, he was still a little jealous. He sighed and trudged on, still feeling down. A brand new class, and none of them showed any sort of potential or interest in Paranormal Activities.

Another bust.

* * *

Rim pushed the door to his new house open and was very grateful to see the inside completely remodeled. The front living room now had a sleek black television for good appearance on the right wall, and the couch was replaced by a black chair, loveseat and ottoman. To his left, the closet that the roboparent's had been stationed was gone, replaced with a hidden door that was their regular lift down to the lab's. To his right, the doorway to the kitchen had a swinging door, and as Kri walked out of it, he could see the sleek new granite counters, silver refrigerator, oven, stove, microwave and dishwasher there, as well as an island in the middle for eating.

Wielding a spatula and something in his right hand, Kri threw the bundle to Rim, who caught it with ease and caught the scent immediately.

"Cooking?" he asked, unrolling the treat and finding a sort of brownie underneath.

"It's good to learn their needs and wants, mandatory-wise, in case a chance to poison their food supply arises," Kri explained smoothly, vanishing into the kitchen to do at least a quick cleanup.

"Of course," Rim said, shaking his head and rubbed his head with a vague smile, taking a bite from the brownie. He was surprised; it was really good. "Either Earth food is delicious or you're still my favorite cook," he called to Kri, wandering to the back room which was now a bedroom-like arrangement.

Directly to his right, nestled into the corner on the same wall as the door, a bed was there with a small bedside lamp and a poster of the Irken symbol on it. Straight ahead in the right corner, a dresser. To his left and in front of him, a large book case packed with books. Half, he knew, would be about Irk and Irkens, the other half about Earth and Humans.

He mused over how their planet and their species had nothing to do with each other as he walked into the room and tapped the wall across from the doorway, opening the lift door and slipping inside, sliding his wig off and shaking his antennae free, pulling the annoying eye contacts out and revealing his haunting red eyes.

He twitched his antennae and yawned, rubbing his one eye. "Sess?"

"Yes, Rim?"

"Have you assessed our location yet?" he asked as the lift lit up a pale blue and brought him down to the lab, his eyes reflecting the light.

"Yes, Rim. The humans around here are labeled harmless and stupid." He barked a laugh. "Although, there _is_ one exeption..."

"Who?" he asked immediately as the door slid open, walking out and towards the screen as a live feed came up.

He saw a scowling boy with a spike of black hair, a trench coat shorter than his own (which he just noticed he had forgotten to take off), and a shirt with a small smiley face on it. Hands currently stuffed in his pockets, he was glaring at the ground and, as he walked along, he kicked a rock across the street.

"_Him?_" Rim asked, mildly surprised and disbelieving. "_He_ proves a threat?"

"He has a strong belief of aliens and is also under the occupation of _Paranormal Investigator_, which brings him to stand against you in your quest."

Rim felt a sudden spark.

"He was in my... class." It took him a moment to get the foreign word.

"Oh? Then, might I suggest inviting him over after Skool tomorrow?" Sess suggested, a scheming smile in place, if she had a face.

"Exquisite plan," he said, mimicking the smile he didn't see.

* * *

Sess.

Why do I always name the computer AI's Sess?

...that or Zium.

Sess or Zium.

...

Maybe something else...


	7. Sickness and Sightings

Who's talking in there?

I don't know.

Did they make a tree set on fire?

Is that a hint?

Maybe.

Just may be.

* * *

Dib was walking down the street quite angrily, glaring at the ground. How come everything was against him?...

He felt a sudden pang and looked up, faintly startled. He felt...

He whirled around and leaned over the garden near him, coughing. _Sick!?_

He grimaced and pulled back, tasting a metallic tang in his mouth. _Blood._ He blinked and wiped his mouth, staring at the red liquid left behind on his hand. He stared at it, swallowing thickly. "What..."

"You okay?"

He twirled around and saw his new classmate, Neo, standing there, giving him a curious look with his head tilted so he could see past his hair. His hands were stuffed deep into his pockets.

"Fine...," Dib mumbled, straightening and whipping the blood on his pants. "I think..."

"Better get home," he said quietly, starting off. "See you tomorrow, Dib."

"Alright," he said, starting to walk home as well and sighed. A few blocks later he jolted to a stop, whirling around uselessly and staring in the direction he'd come from.

_I didn't say my name today,_ he thought, adding how Neo had been too far to overhear his and Dip's discussion.

"Ominous," he mumbled, though the little attempt at cheering himself fell flat as he started walking again. He found himself stopping abruptly for the fourth time on his way home, staring up at his doorway.

His father stood there, looking quite pleased as he invited Dip inside of the house, ushering her in before sliding the door shut.

"No, dad!" he shouted, running up the steps and bursting inside, seeing Dip glance back while Prof. Membrane was just leaving the room, the robot near the stairs. "Dad, what are you doing!?"

"Dib!" Prof. Membrane said, walking over and picking him up. "Dib, this is your _cousin_, Dip! You two haven't seen each other in _so long!_" He gave one of his adult I'm-busy-but-this-is-amusing laughs and put him down. "Now, Dib, bring Dip to your sisters room. Gaz fixed it for her, and that's where she'll be staying now. Ah! No arguing. Just go." Ushering them off, Prof. Membrane vanished out the door.

"..." Dib turned to glare at Dip, still feeling a little disoriented at the speed of what had just happened. His father was too busy for his own good. "Just because you brainwashed my father doesn't mean I trust you," he hissed, tramping up the stairs past her and slamming his door shut.

"I didn't _brainwash_ anyone," he heard past his door as he sat onto his bed angrily. "Dib, seriously. I didn't. How is it impossible for you to have a cousin!?"

"I don't!" he shouted. "Get out of my house!"

Silence followed before a small _swish_ cut it. He looked down and saw a photograph slide under his door.

"Is that proof enough, or are you going to accuse me of photoshopping now?" she asked quietly.

Dib stood and walked to the door, crouching and picking it up.

It was him, as a child, and what was probably _her_ as a child, each of them holding plush toys of aliens the same sizes as them. And... that plush toy, Dib remembered, he had it in the garage.

"..." He pulled the door open and stared at her. "...Cousin, you say?"

* * *

"..."

"We've finally got her."

"Of course..."

"No more running..."

"She won't escape."

"And now..."

"He'll be born."

A huge flash of light filled the field outside the city, raging around the ship that was landed there before fading into the night.

* * *

"Whoa!"

Dip jumped into his chair and slid over to his computer, typing over it skillfully, eyes racing over the data streaming by.

"Th-that's personal!" Dib stammered, running up as she dragged a live video feed up.

"Who're you watching?" she asked, watching it.

"Huh?" Dib looked over her shoulder and watched as Gir walked by the screen, looking more serious than usual. No, wait, that wasn't Gir...

"Move," he said suddenly, pushing her out of the way and leaning forward, staring at the robot that walked by.

It looked like Gir, only a little taller, with darker metal and dark, navy eyes. It had claws on its hands, and the chestplate was black, as well as the shoulder, wrists and antennae on its head. It had a symbol on its forehead, too.

"What _is_ that?" Dip asked from his side and he blinked, looking at her. By the time he looked back, the robot had walked off-screen.

"A robot, like... a robot slave, but different than Zim's," he said, typing and turning the screen before he noticed the whole room had changed. "Whoa!"

"What!?"

"That... Zim's house is all different."

"Who's Zim!?" she demanded, exasperated. While he scanned over the room, he explained about Zim, being in his class, his plans, his robot, house, leaders...

"Wait, he's Irken!" she said, as though that answered everything. Dib whirled and stared at her. She blinked. "You said his leaders were The Tallest. That means he's Irken. Right?"

"Yeah," he said, sounding shocked. "But how do _you_ know that!"

"I _told_ you I knew aliens!" she said, giving him an are-you-stupid look. "I know what an Irken is!"

"You never said _that_!" he snapped back.

"You never _asked!_" she retorted and he sighed.

"All I know is this; that wasn't Zim's alien slave," Dib muttered and set the feed on _record._

"Looks to me you don't know much of anything," Dip scoffed, glaring at him. He turned and glared right back.

"How long have _you _been hunting aliens?!" he snapped.

"I don't hunt aliens," she sneered and he was caught off guard, blinking in surprise. "Just because I know aliens doesn't mean I hunt them."

"Then what do you do!?" he snapped. "_Help_ them!?"

"I run," she stated simply and stood, looking resigned now. "I'm goin' to bed."

"Wait," he said, trying to ask what she meant until the door slammed shut. He stared after it for a long minute before sighing and switching the screen on his computer off, walking into the hall and seeing Gaz's door shut. "_It isn't even six o'clock!"_ he shouted. Nothing replied.

* * *

Neo.

:c

Too popular a name.

...

But cool.

Reminds me of black and green.

...

Neon green.


End file.
